The UFC currently hosts a bevy of dominant champions, but none rival the unparalleled reign of the one and only Anderson Silva.
For years, “The Spider” has ruled over the promotion’s 185-pound weight class, dismissing all comers and rarely finding himself in troubled situations.
Though Silva has shown no signs of slowing down, he is less than a week away from his 38th birthday, a reminder that no one man can horde a UFC title forever. Whether through usurpation or succession, all championship reigns come to an end, no matter of the stature of the athlete wearing the crown.
At 185 pounds, there are many clamoring to end the Silva era, challengers currently competing against one another for the right to take a shot at what the champion has.
Here we assess the UFC middleweight class’ current landscape, examining the title aspirations of each of the division’s top 10 fighters, as ranked by the UFC.
Each top 10 fighter has been tagged with a probability that identifies the likelihood of them ever gaining the strap. That probability is based on a number of factors, including ability, age and current station within the division.
Read on to see who is most likely to adorn middleweight gold before they call it quits.